Best Slow Cooker Recipes: Crock Pot Chili With Leftover Prime Rib Recipe

I usually make my crockpot chili purely vegetarian because I think sometimes it is just wise to eat a few meatless meals - and it helps to know how to cook vegetarian dishes if you happen to have family or friends who don't eat meat! This recipe though for Crockpot Chili with Prime Rib is a great recipe to make for nonvegetarians!

I like to try things out before the fact though and it just so happens that I started making this dish when my daughter was trying out being a vegetarian. It was so popular that I've just kept to the same recipe though from time to time, if the mood strikes, I throw in some meat.

This particular time, I had a leftover batch of prime rib pieces that I had cut off the bone and frozen. On going through my freezer, I happened to spy those and since I was making the chili anyway, decided to just go ahead and add the cooked beef to the recipe. Since it was prime rib, it was deliciously tender! So now I have a use for any of those pieces in the future.

Serve this with a green salad of some sort and try my cornbread recipe to go along with it. Some folks like chili served over rice as well. It is also good with my French Bread or my Whole Wheat French Bread!

You can make this strictly vegetarian or you can add any kind of meat or even chicken/turkey.

INGREDIENTS

• Olive oil spray
• 1 small onion diced – sauteed until soft
• 1-2 gloves of garlic minced – sauteed with onions above
• Fresh Cilantro or dried cilantro
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup shredded or cut leftover prime rib pieces

• 1 15-ounce can no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 2 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3/4 -1 cup broth or water
• Chili powder to taste
• Salt to taste
• Pepper or red pepper flakes to taste
• 1/4 teapsoon cumin
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
• Dried Oregano if desired
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1-1/3 cup dried beans soaked overnight (SEE PREP TIP BELOW) or cooked for 2 minutes (SEE QUICK PREP VERSION BELOW)– any combination of beans or substitute 2 15-16 ounce cans of kidney beans or mixture of red beans, black beans, kidney beans – even white beans

GARNISH

• Cheddar cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Green onions
• Sour cream
• Fresh tomatoes

PREPARATION

1. Saute the onions and garlic until soft.
2. Spray inside of slow cooker with olive oil spray (or use vegetable spray). Add onions and garlic/cilantro to slow cooker.
3. Add rest of ingredients. Stir to combine.
4. Set on low and cook for at least 8-12 hours to desired consistency.

Serve with cornbread - Another idea – serve over rice.

Dried beans can be kept indefinitely, although some folks will say that after 12 months, they lose their flavor. I’m kind of on the fence about that because they are in the dormant state until cooked! I store mine in airtight containers in the cupboard and measure out what I need but like to have a variety on hand such as

• Small white beans
• Small red beans
• Garbanzo beans
• Kidney beans
• Pinto beans
• Adzuki beans
• Black beans
• Green split peas
• Yellow split peas

Other favorites are:

• Black-Eyed peas
• Black Soybeans
• Lima beans

SOAK OVERNIGHT METHOD

• Measure 1-1/3 cup dried beans.
• Pick out any imperfect, broken ones – or pick out stones or withered beans and discard.
• Add 4 cups of water and place beans and water in a container with a lid.
• Let sit 6-8 hours (or overnight).
• Drain and rinse beans.

QUICK PREP FOR BEANS

• Measure out 1-1/3 cup dried beans.
• Cover with water.
• Heat to boiling.
• Remove from heat, cover and let stand (not cooking) for 2 hours.

When dealing with beans in recipes remember these points:

• Dry beans will expand to 2-1/2 times their original size when soaked (like many people I know)
• 2 cups dry beans will equal 5-6 cups of beans when cooked
• Need a substitute for a 15 ounce can of beans? That would be 1-2/3 cups cooked beans.
• Starting from the beginning – 2/3 cup of dry beans will equal 1 can of cooked beans – but you need to prep them!